Monday, February 9, 2015

January Accounting Update

Transparency is a fundamental component of our
organizational philosophy. We believe
that a key part of expressing respect and gratitude for our donors is taking
the time to show you exactly where your money is going.

We have been operating with a very small budget
but, as we grow, we promise to remain committed to making wise decisions about
where money is spent. We believe in
keeping administrative costs low so that the kids in Lobitos can see the direct
impact of incoming funds.

Where did our funds come from in January?

Our little January BBQ fundraiser at La Casona brought in 120 Peruvian Nuevo Soles
(about 40 USD). MUCHAS gracias to
everyone who helped sell tickets and everyone who came out and helped us grill
up chorizos (and eat them, of course).
It was lots of fun showing off the library the day before opening and
hanging out with all of you lovely people.

We were also fortunate enough to receive a little
extra help from our friends at www.qempo.com last month in the form of an 80
USD donation. Qempo is a socially-minded
startup business run by one of our Libros a Lobitos founders. For each order made through their website,
one dollar is donated to the Lobitos Library!

In total, we spent 455 nuevo soles (about 150 USD)in January.

Here´s where that money went:

Let there be luz!

165 nuevo soles (approx. 50 USD) went towards supplies to install outlets in
the library! Lucky for us, our good
friends at www.lobitosinfo.com
are also master electricians and didn´t charge us anything for the
installation. The next step will be
getting some fans to plug in to those outlets so we can survive the hot Lobitos
summer!

52 nuevo soles (approx. 20 USD) was spent on paint last month as part
of the beautification of our library. We
also had lots of friends come out and donate free labor. Thanks guys!
Hope you´re not burnt out on painting yet… soon we´ll be starting work
on the outside of the library! Keep
checking our facbeook page for details and come give a hand if you are around!

With all of the commotion going on to get Biblioteca
Lobitos ready for opening, we were calling in on a lot of favors! Luckily our handy dandy red phone never let
us down…46 nuevo soles (approx. 20 USD) went to communication costs (this also includes the cost
of printing fliers to spread the word about the project throughout Lobitos).

56 nuevo soles (approx. 20 USD) went to random construction odds and ends; a
few screws and nails here, a replacement wheelbarrow tire there. We sure have learned a lot of new tool
vocabulary in Spanish this month!

The last 136 nuevo soles (about 40 USD) went towards school
supplies. We think these crayons,
scissors and construction paper have been put to great use by our wonderfully
creative kids but don´t take our word for it…see for yourself!

This project is currently operating "hand to mouth" which is neither sustainable nor fair to the children using our facilities. Our goal is to raise 9850 USD in order to set up a fully functioning community library and operate it for the entire year of 2015. Without your help, we cannot guarantee that the library will be open all year. With just one day left on our online fundraising campaign, the time to contribute is now!

If you are unable to make a financial contribution at the moment, don´t worry, there are many other ways to help this project gain momentum! Keep helping us spread the word about this project.

Put us in touch with people you know who work in education and have the resources to help our project.